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Water Pollution/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim tries to get water from his kitchen faucet but no water comes out. Moby arrives dressed like a plumber. TIM: Moby! Why do you keep turning the water off? Moby hands Tim a typed letter which Tim reads. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, What does it mean when a river is polluted? Amanda. Hey there. A body of water becomes polluted when foreign substances damage the water quality, making the water undrinkable and dangerous for organisms to live in. People put stress on their water supply every day using up clean water and releasing pollutants into the rivers, lakes, and groundwater. Animations show a toilet flushing, a car being washed, and a washing machine shaking. TIM: Every body of water has some ability to deal with foreign materials. Waste can be dissolved, or broken down; they can be dispersed, or spread out; or they can be recycled, as food for plants and microorganisms. Images show symbols for dissolved, disbursed, and recycled. TIM: Usually, a body of water can neutralize foreign substances, and the quality of the water isn't harmed. But when it can't handle all the substances released into it, the water becomes polluted. Pollution can enter a body of water in a few ways: as acid rain; as eroded soil; as runoff containing fertilizers and pesticides; as chemicals released from industries; or as sewage and other wastes from cities and towns. Animations show rainfall, soil, a field, an industrial plant emitting black smoke, and pipes leaking liquid sewage. TIM: Sometimes pollution doesn't even look like pollution! An animation shows boiling water flowing out of a pipe into a body of water. TIM: Often, factories or power plants will use water to cool down their machinery. When that water is released, it's hot. If there isn't enough room for it to disperse, it'll heat up the body of water and cause life to grow faster than normal. Thermal pollution like this can push out native species and leave too many nutrients in the water. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, however water pollution begins it ends the same way. When too many foreign substances are present in a body of water, the supply of oxygen is cut off. Without oxygen, organisms begin to die, leaving room for anaerobic microorganisms, which don't need oxygen to survive. An animation shows organisms in water dying when water loses oxygen. Small worm-like anaerobic organisms then invade the water. TIM: These organisms release gases like methane and hydrogen sulfide, leaving a foul-smelling waste-filled body of water. An animation shows a filthy body of water releasing gas into the air. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, it's not just the fault of the factories. Thanks to laws passed in the 1970s, we've managed to cut down on a lot of the pollution from companies dumping stuff straight into the water. However, runoff from farms and ranches is still a big problem. An image shows a group of cows grazing near water. TIM: Animal waste, fertilizer, and pesticides can wash from the soil into nearby waterways. And quite a bit of water pollution is created by each of us as we go about our business from day to day. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yep, you too. Luckily we have ways of cleaning up a lot of that water. Thunder sounds and rain falls outside Tim’s house. TIM: Plants that treat waste water can purify it before it's released back into rivers and lakes, and researchers are always working on new ways to cut down on water pollution. An image shows a water purification plant. TIM: But the best way to help is to be careful with your water. An image shows a polluted body of water. TIM: After all, you wouldn't want to have to drink that. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Oh, that's why you turned off the water? Moby nods yes. TIM: That polluted lake, that's not our water supply. We get our water from the reservoir, so you can turn it back on. Moby shakes his head no. He walks over to an open window and holds out a glass to catch the rain water that is falling. Tim sighs. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts